Government

Embassy, Brussels

What we did

An embassy has to receive guests and it has to work, and both had to be true in every room.

Marcotte Style handled this building from the building works up: the panelled walls and plaster mouldings, the oak parquet, the oak joinery of the board room, and then the furniture, the lighting, the curtains and the smallest fittings. The reception rooms carry crystal chandeliers with matching wall sconces, tufted chesterfield seating, floor length gold silk curtains made to measure, and consoles and pedestal desks in solid oak. On the working floors the same hand returns in full height oak wall panelling and a conference table sized for the room, while the original wrought iron stair balustrade was kept and framed as the spine of the house.

The approach

Designed in house by our interior architects
Photorealistic 3D before production
Made to measure in our own atelier
Delivered, installed and styled by our own team
One point of contact from A to Z

Images from this project

Hall

Curved iron balustrade seen from the landing - Embassy, Brussels — Curved iron balustrade seen from the landing

Stone figure beside the wrought iron entrance door - Embassy, Brussels — Stone figure beside the wrought iron entrance door

Crystal chandelier above the arched iron screen - Embassy, Brussels — Crystal chandelier above the arched iron screen

The stair hall was treated as the arrival moment, with the wrought iron balustrade and the arched iron screen left to carry the space on their own. Marcotte Style hung the crystal fittings so they read against the amber textured glazing at every turn of the stair, and set the stone figure on its plinth beside the entrance door. Placement, plinth height and lighting were drawn up in advance and rendered in photorealistic 3D before anything was fixed.

Wrought iron scrollwork against amber textured glass - Embassy, Brussels — Wrought iron scrollwork against amber textured glass

Painted ceiling rose behind the crystal chandelier - Embassy, Brussels — Painted ceiling rose behind the crystal chandelier

Solid oak echoes between the pedestal desk, the consoles, the conference table and the wall panelling.

Living room

Tufted chesterfields around the stone mantelpiece - Embassy, Brussels — Tufted chesterfields around the stone mantelpiece

Carved stone reliefs on the oak console - Embassy, Brussels — Carved stone reliefs on the oak console

Nickel and glass lanterns on the oak console - Embassy, Brussels — Nickel and glass lanterns on the oak console

Marble mantelpiece with a painted birdcage - Embassy, Brussels — Marble mantelpiece with a painted birdcage

Buttoned chesterfield with a grey velvet cushion - Embassy, Brussels — Buttoned chesterfield with a grey velvet cushion

Two buttoned chesterfields face each other across the stone mantelpiece, finished with a single grey velvet cushion so the seating stays quiet. The oak consoles on either side were made to measure in the atelier and dressed with nickel and glass lanterns and a pair of carved stone reliefs. The wall sconces light the mantel wall rather than the seating, which keeps the room soft after dark.

Dining room

Long oak dining table under moulded plasterwork - Embassy, Brussels — Long oak dining table under moulded plasterwork

Leather bar stools along the panelled wall - Embassy, Brussels — Leather bar stools along the panelled wall

Crystal chandelier and scrolled metal wall sconce - Embassy, Brussels — Crystal chandelier and scrolled metal wall sconce

Moulded plaster cornice at the ceiling corner - Embassy, Brussels — Moulded plaster cornice at the ceiling corner

The dining room seats a full table under the coved plaster ceiling, with the crystal fittings hung to the length of the boards rather than to the room. Leather chairs and matching bar stools were built to the same seat detail, so the table and the standing edge of the room read as one. The mirrored panelled doors were retained and the moulded cornice made good, all of it delivered, installed and styled by their own team.

Office

Oak pedestal desk with a dark inset top - Embassy, Brussels — Oak pedestal desk with a dark inset top

Buttoned armchair beside a turned oak side table - Embassy, Brussels — Buttoned armchair beside a turned oak side table

Black velvet chair at the oak desk - Embassy, Brussels — Black velvet chair at the oak desk

Crystal and warm brass repeat between the chandeliers, the sconces and the desk lamps.

Brass desk lamp under the crystal chandelier - Embassy, Brussels — Brass desk lamp under the crystal chandelier

Both working rooms are built around an oak pedestal desk, one standing on a deep pile rug under a crystal fitting, the other set square to the window. The articulated brass lamps, the black velvet chair and the turned oak side tables were specified together, so the metalwork stays consistent from lamp base to sconce. The gold curtains hang from a pinch pleat heading, drawn in house by their own interior architects along with the rest of the room.

Brass lamp on the oak desk at the window - Embassy, Brussels — Brass lamp on the oak desk at the window

Pinch pleat heading on gold curtains - Embassy, Brussels — Pinch pleat heading on gold curtains

Cut crystal droplets on the chandelier arm - Embassy, Brussels — Cut crystal droplets on the chandelier arm

Terrace

Rear facade with pleached trees and garden - Embassy, Brussels — Rear facade with pleached trees and garden

Rendered street facade with dormers and iron door - Embassy, Brussels — Rendered street facade with dormers and iron door

Woven outdoor chair beside a marble table top - Embassy, Brussels — Woven outdoor chair beside a marble table top

On the street the house presents a rendered facade with four dormers in the mansard and a wrought iron entrance door under a fanlight. At the back the facade opens onto a garden framed by pleached trees on their training wires. The outdoor seating was kept deliberately plain against it, a woven chair pulled up to a veined marble table top, with one point of contact carrying through from the interior to the garden furniture.

Nothing here was decided on site. Every room was drawn up in advance and rendered in photorealistic 3D before anything went into production, so the drop of the chandelier, the width of the curtain heading, the depth of the desk and the reveal of the panelling were all settled while they were still drawings. That is why the salons, the ambassador's office and the board room read as one building instead of a series of separate purchases, right down to the door handles and the switch plates.

The material story is deliberately narrow. Solid oak echoes between the pedestal desk, the consoles, the conference table and the wall panelling. Linen and gold silk repeat between the chesterfields and the curtains. Crystal and warm brass repeat between the chandeliers, the sconces and the desk lamps. Against cream walls and moulded plaster, that repetition is what keeps a large building calm.

From the first sketch to the final styling this was one team. Designed in house by our own interior architects, made to measure in our own atelier, then delivered, installed and styled by our own people, with one point of contact from A to Z.